Debunking Common Live-in Care Myths

When looking into preparations for the future or considering what care options are best for you, one option that can serve as an effective middle ground for some people who want to keep their independence but have complex needs is live-in care.

Home care is often quite flexible, and ranges from someone to help for an hour or two each week to organise tasks that someone may struggle with to someone who provides round-the-clock care, depending on needs determined through a needs assessment.

Not all live-in care is the same, and it is important to know what live-in care entails, and that involves unpicking some commonly believed myths.

Independence Is Prioritised

There is a belief that accepting social care means losing one’s independence, but the opposite is in fact true. Fulfilling care needs is, in fact, essential to maintaining independence and care provision is designed on the basis that people should be in control of their own lives.

Live-in care is a major part of this, as a symbol of independence is often the home a person lives in and the biggest asset that belongs to them. Typically, having live-in carers allows someone to stay in their home but also receive care as and when they need it, as they would in a residential home.

Live-In Does Not Always Mean 24/7 Care

There is a conflation between round-the-clock care and live-in care, because there are cases where people need a carer to be available at all hours of the day, but not all live-in care arrangements are like this.

Sometimes carers will stay at the house at night to meet particular needs but would otherwise remain on call, allowing people to do what they want to do but also have someone available to take care of them in case of a fall or another type of emergency.

This means that live-in care is not always as prohibitively expensive as it may initially appear.